Hezbollah launches rocket attack on Israel in retaliation for death of senior commander – The Irish Times

Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel on Sunday in retaliation for the killing of a senior commander in Beirut last month, the Iran-backed movement said at an Israeli cabinet meeting to prepare a response.

Shortly before the attacks, Israeli jets hit targets in Lebanon when the military assessed that Hezbollah was preparing to begin barrages, the military said.

Hezbollah said it had fired more than 320 Katyusha rockets at Israel, hitting 11 military targets. It said the barrage completed “the first phase” of its response to the killing of senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, but that the full response would take “some time.”

Fears of an escalation between the two sides had grown since a rocket attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 young people last month and the Israeli military responded by assassinating Shukr in Beirut.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that the cabinet would meet at 7 a.m. (4 a.m. Irish time).

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Israel would respond to developments on the ground but was not seeking a full-scale war. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would do whatever was necessary to defend itself.

“We have carried out targeted strikes in Lebanon to deter an imminent threat to the citizens of Israel. We are closely monitoring developments in Beirut and are committed to using all the tools at our disposal to defend our citizens,” Gallant said in a statement.

Most of the Israeli attacks hit targets in southern Lebanon, but the military is ready to strike anywhere there is a threat, an Israeli military spokesman said.

Gallant declared a state of emergency and flights to and from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport were suspended for about 90 minutes, but the airport authority said normal operations were expected to resume around 7 a.m.

Warning sirens sounded in northern Israel and several explosions were heard in several areas as Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system fired rockets from southern Lebanon. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said the country was on high alert.

The Israeli military issued civil defense orders from central Israel to northern Israel. Gatherings were restricted, but people were allowed to go to work as long as they could quickly reach bomb shelters. No immediate casualties were reported in Israel, according to the emergency services.

Security officials in Lebanon said at least 40 Israeli strikes had hit several towns in the south of the country, making it one of the densest bombing campaigns since hostilities began in October.

A resident of the southern Lebanese town of Zibqeen, about seven kilometers from the border, said it was the first time he had “woken up to the noise of planes and the loud explosions of rockets – even before morning prayers. It felt like the apocalypse.”

Citing defense officials, Israel's army radio station said the military believes Hezbollah is preparing to fire hundreds of rockets into central Israel in an attack scheduled for 5 a.m.

About 100 Israeli fighter jets thwarted Hezbollah's rocket attacks after they began their attack half an hour earlier, the report said. The military assessed the subsequent Hezbollah shelling as “improvised.”

“Dozens of [Israeli air force] “The fighter jets are currently attacking targets in various locations in southern Lebanon. We continue to remove threats and carry out intensive attacks against the terrorist organization Hezbollah,” said military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

The escalation between Israel and Hezbollah has raised fears that a larger regional conflict could emerge, potentially involving both the United States and Iran. US President Joe Biden is following events closely, the White House said.

“At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts. We will continue to support Israel's right to self-defense and remain committed to regional stability,” said Seán Savett, spokesman for the National Security Council.

The attacks took place during a negotiating meeting in Cairo in a last-ditch effort to halt fighting in the Gaza Strip and return Israeli and foreign hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Immediately after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel. Since then, Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire, preventing a major escalation while war rages in southern Gaza.

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This precarious balance appeared to shift after the attack on the Golan Heights, for which Hezbollah denied responsibility, and the subsequent assassination of Shukr, one of Hezbollah's highest-ranking military commanders in Beirut.

Shukr's death in an airstrike was soon followed by the assassination of Hamas politician Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which led to Iran vowing retaliation against Israel. – Reuters